Returning to the Ancient era, next off the production line is this unit of Thracian Peltasts. I see I need to add paint to their beards, though!
The Thracians were a diverse group of tribes, with traditional dress varying quite a bit from area to area. They were known as fierce fighters, and on foot they fought lightly armed, using mobility to harass and evade the heavily armed hoplites of the Greek city states.
They proved so successful that the Greeks hired them as mercenaries, and also emulated by developing their own Peltasts, the troop type as a whole being the epitome of the old WRG "light Medium Infantry".
Whether the characteristic crescent shaped shields of these Thracians was made of wicker or not is a subject of debate, but these Old Glory figures have shields with that appearance.
The shields might be painted with animal faces or other decorations, perhaps in part varying by tribe. I was feeling lazy so I went with leaving them relatively plain!
Their cloaks could be adorned with various geometric patters, but once again laziness lead to the lack of same appearing here!
In addition to their Javelins, the Thracians were usually armed also with a long spear, or the fearsome rhomphaia, a somewhat curved single edged long sword, usually wielded 2 handed.
An interesting short video testing two modern rhomphaias
.
Great looking Thracians, Peter!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dean. They do look like they mean business with those 2 handed choppers!
DeleteGreat work sir!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michal!
DeleteNice work, Peter!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jon. Things have been pretty disputed after the remnants of the Hurricane passed to our West Tuesday afternoon last week - power, internet cell service all severely disrupted. We were pretty lucky, only without power for half a day, and internet for 3 days. Our friends just got their power back last night, our neighbors today, and our daughter is still without power. Did WAY more gamage (downed trees and power lines) than expected!
DeleteHi Peter. I didn't realize you were affected by the hurricane. Good to see that all is well (now!). Did you paint by candlelight?
DeleteWell, as I said, we were very lucky to only lose power for less than 12 hours, plus... after Hurricane Irene in late August 2011 followed by the devastating late October snowstorm which was even worse, we got a pretty hefty generator. While the basement lights aren't on generator power, most other lights are. I actually had a very light work week from Tuesday aftertnoon on, as so many patients couldn't get to the office due to the many downed trees and powerlines; even virtual (video) visits were severely curtailed due to loss of cell towers and internet connections. The damage was MUCH worse than anticipated, even though the storm passed through our area rapidly, and rainfall totals were unimpressive.
DeleteNicely done Peter. I don't know how many times I have taken pictures of figures and then realised there was a detail there I had missed during the painting, but hopefully the beards will only take half an hour if you choose to do them!
ReplyDeleteYep, it definitely happens. The are ready for Movember now... :-)
DeleteReally nice unit indeed.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Garry. August looks to be Thracian Month here at the blog!
DeleteI look forward to that!
Delete